A trip back to Earth
by oj2000
Summary: Joseph Everdeen and Steven Hawthorne are sent by God to District Twelve for a day, five years after their death. What will they find out about their children and families? No Games, no Peeta. Galeniss.
1. We're going back

God's POV  
"Well, as you both know, you'll both get a chance to go back to life on earth just one day during all of the time that you'll be up here. That time has arrived." I said looking down at Joseph Everdeen and Steven Hawthorne. I had sent a message to them this morning, they needed to see me before I could bring them back to earth.  
"So, y-you mean, we're going back? We can meet our families again?" Joseph asked, with a hopeful expression in his face.  
"Can we meet them, can we talk to them?" Steven asked, exited.  
"Both yes and no" I said. "You'll be able to see them, you can walk around just like a human, but no one will see you. You will be totally invisible for everybody."  
"Even our families?"  
"Yes" I sighed, this was the only bad thing with this whole trip - they weren't going to be able to touch or speak with their loved ones. But how would it look, a dead person walking around the street like nothing has ever happened and looking exactly the same as it did on the day it died.  
"When are we leaving?" Steven asked.  
"What about now? Remember, you have exactly 24 hours to spend on earth. It's been five years since you died, so, Steven, your eldest son should be about nineteen and Joseph, your eldest daughter should be seventeen."  
They looked surprised when I said this, apparently they hadn't thought of their kids ages.

Stevens POV  
God left, saying that he'll come back in a few minutes to bring us back to earth. I couldn't really take the thought of my children of my mind.  
"Oh, man" Joseph said, with a distant look in his eyes. "My little daughter, seventeen, and Prim, she must be thirteen. It's a lot to take in."  
"I know" I answered him. "Gale is nineteen, Rory's thirteen, Vick's eleven and Posy must five." I smiled sadly to myself at the thought of the little girl I never had a chance to meet, whom's name we'd decided long before she was born. Actually, I don't even know if it is a girl, it's just a feeling that I have. I could just imagine her with Hazelle's red hair in two braids, running around and being chased by Gale, who must have been some kind of father to her since I haven't been there in all of her life. It makes me sad, both that we never got a chance to meet, but also that Gale got so much on his small, fourteen year old shoulders after I died. I don't know how they survived without the money I got from the mines, but since I haven't seen them here, I guess they made it. On Gale's hunting, I guess. That boy could catch anything in his snares.  
It'll be nice to see how everything worked out since my death. I see Joseph tapping his foot lightly on the floor and find myself doing the same, I guess we both want to leave. We two had always been best friends, since first grade in class, to be exact. On earth, we had both loved to be out hunting in the forest together. Joseph had amazing skills on the bow, and according to him, his daughter was the same. My skill had always been the snares, and Gale was like me too. He always came up with new snare and new variations on mine. Maybe he and Katniss are friends now, who knows? Oh, well, God probably knows, but I'm not going to ask him.  
A moment later I see God arriving from whatever he was doing. He asks us to come and stand by him, and we do. Suddenly a white, bright light appears and a second later I feel myself landing on the soft forest floor. I hear the birds around me and smell the trees, I had almost forgotten how they smelled. I look around to see Joseph and see that he's in similar daze. We hear a snap of a twig and suddenly realise that we're not alone. Before us stands a young woman with a long black braid hanging over her shoulder. She has a beautiful bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. I take a deep breath, waiting for her to scream or something, but then I remember that she can't see us. I look at Steven, only to see him staring at her. It clicks in my head. I just figured out who she is. Katniss Everdeen.


	2. Hunting and Birthday present

Joseph's POV  
My daughter, my Katniss, is standing right in front of me. But she can't see me. And neither can she see Steven, who is looking at me worriedly. I realise that I forgot to breathe.  
I move my head to look at my daughter again. She is loading her bow with an arrow. She's so beautiful, I see that she has a lot of my own features in her seventeen year old face, but her body is her mothers. I get tears in my eyes when I see that she wears my old hunting jacket.  
She starts to walk slowly towards a green bush. After a second, we see the ears of a rabbit peaking through the leaves. Katniss releases her arrow, the rabbit doesn't even have time to blink. The arrow goes straight through its eye.  
Steven gives a low whistle of approval and I smile at him, proud of my daughter. Katniss collects the rabbit and secure it at her belt. She shots two more rabbits and a squirrel in a matters of minutes without any problems. Then something happens. Her head jerks up and she quickly whips her head around. Then a smile grazes her features and she goes back to pulling her arrows out of the squirrel she shot.  
I look at Steven to see if he understood what happen during those seconds when Katniss face went from panic to calmness.  
He has the same wondering expression on his face and shrugs his shoulder at me.  
Then we see the reason of Katniss' outburst. A young man is arriving through the trees. And according to Steven's reaction it can only mean thing. That boy, no, man, is Gale Hawthorne.

Steven's POV  
My son, it's my son who at this very moment is walking through the trees towards Katniss. Maybe they are friends after all.  
Oh, man, he has grown. The lanky fourteen year old has developed to a full grown man. With broad shoulders and muscular arms. He's about as tall as I am and we have pretty much the same face and hair, though he has his mothers eyes.  
"Hi Gale" Katniss says without turning around. How the hell did she know it was him? It seems we missed a lot during our years in heaven.  
"Hi Catnip, happy birthday!" Gale says, his voice is dark and sounds like mine as well.  
Catnip? I look a Joseph for some kind of confirmation, he shakes his head and shrugs. Then both of us realises what he said. Happy birthday? Is it her birthday today. I look at Joseph again and he nods his head, he must have known. I turn my head to the scene in front of me.  
Katniss rises from her seat on the forest floor and turns around to meet him. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Gale breaks her gaze and starts to search for something in his pocket. He finds it and pulls it out but keeps his hand closed around it. Katniss raises one of her eyebrows at him in question. He smiles slightly at her and opens his mouth to speak.  
"Well, I know we don't usually give each other presents, but I saw this and thought of you and I couldn't help but buy it" He says in a low tone while looking at her fondly.  
"Gale, you didn't have t..." Katniss starts but Gale silences her by a finger on her mouth. Joseph raises a eyebrow and a feel myself feeling surprised by his act as well.  
"Shhh, Catnip. You'll see what I mean soon. Open your hand" he says and takes her hand in his. He puts something in her hand and she stares at it and starts to tear up.  
"You like it?" Gale asks nervously. But by the look in Katniss eyes he has no reason to be nervous.  
"I love it. It's so beautiful. But how did you know?"  
Joseph and look at each other and we both seems to be at loss for what's happening.  
But then we manage to catch a glimpse at the object in Katniss' hand. It's a golden pin with a mockingjay and a arrow.  
The look in Joseph's eyes changes and he looks at the the pin with a knowing gaze.  
"Remember that night two years ago when we were hiding from the storm in that cabin by the lake?" Gale asks her.  
"Yes"she says and tries to understand what he means.  
"You told me a lot about your father that night, remember?" She nods her head.

Joseph's POV  
Were they talking about me? Well, this should be interesting.  
"You told me that when your father used to sing, all the mockingjays stopped theirs and began to sing like him. And you said that every time you saw a mockingjay, you thought of him."  
She looks up at him while a tear is slowly making its way down her cheek.  
"Thank you Gale, you don't know how much this means to me. I love it, and I love you" she says and wraps her arms around his chest. He hugs her back.  
"I love you too" he says and she stands on her tiptoes and lean up to kiss him.  
Steven and I stare at them in shock.  
"Wait a minute, they're a c-couple?!" Steven stammers out. He seems to be as surprised as I am.  
"Apparently" I say. "And it looks like they've been that a while."  
We both think it over for a minute and it seems we both come to the conclusion that we approve. We smile to each other.  
Gale and Katniss spend the rest of the day hunting together. Katniss shoots the game with her bow and Gale uses his snares.

Steven's POV  
Those snares are amazing! I can't figure out how he made them and neither can Katniss according to her results when he tried to teach her a new one. I must say that I'm proud of my son. And I also must say that I was surprised when they kissed, but now, a while later, I say I approve. They fit together. Like two halves of a whole. They always seems to know where the other person is and what it's thinking. It's cool, and they seems to have a silent language.  
After a few hours in the woods, Gale and Katniss decides it's time to get home. They pass the Hob for some trading and the smell of Greasy Sae's soup awakes some memories to both Joseph and I and we smile at each other.  
Now we're going home.


	3. Prim and Maria Everdeen

Joseph's POV  
We follow Katniss and Gale to the outskirts of a District Twelve. When we pass the mines we stop for a minute to look at the reason for our death. We stand there quietly while the memories flows through our heads. I suddenly realise something.  
"Do you think Gale works down there now? He's nineteen." A man usually starts to work in the mine after his eighteenth birthday, after his last reaping.  
"Oh, I-I don't know. But I guess so, he has to. They need the money. I don't like the thought of it, though, my little boy down there. It's dangerous." Steven's quiet while we hurry to catch up on the couple in front of us. They're holding hands.  
I can't say I like the thought of my baby girl with a boy. But I'm happy for her. When I was alive she always told me that she would never get married, and never have children. And my girl is stubborn, she got that from me, so I'm sure she needed a lot of convincing from Gale to be able to let go of that thought.  
But I trust Gale, he's a good guy, and I know that he will take care of her. So I'm happy for her, I'm happy for them. They deserve each other.

A few minutes later we arrive at my house, it looks the same as it did when I left it that last morning five years ago. I can't wait to see my Primrose, and my wife, my lovely Maria, who gave up a life in town for a seam boy like me. I know it must have been hard for her when I died, we were always best friends, a bit like Gale and Katniss actually.  
But she had Katniss there to help her, and they survived.  
Katniss opens the door and holds it open for Gale, who steps in. Steven and I quickly manage to slink through before she closes it again.  
I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes wide open. Because in front of me is a young girl, with her blonde hair braided into a pink ribbon, running to hug her sister and Gale. She looks so much like her mother, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes. Prim. Primrose Everdeen, my second daughter. I feel myself tear up. Five years, five years I've been dead. And during those five years, my two girls have grown up.  
"Happy birthday, Katniss!" Prim practically screams.  
"Whoa Prim, calm down" Katniss says "it's not such a big deal."  
"Wrong, it is a big deal. Because it's your birthday! Your seventeenth birthday!" Prim is now jumping up and down on her spot while both Gale and Steven are chuckling at her.  
"Prim, what's going on?" A voice inside they house interrupts Prim's jumping. A voice so beautiful it hurts my ears. My Maria's voice.  
"It's Katniss and Gale, mom. They're home!"  
Maria is suddenly standing in the doorway, looking as beautiful as always. It hurts my eyes to look at her, I've missed her so much. She is smiling at the scene in front of her and goes to hug both of the young adults.  
"Happy birthday, baby. Prim was devastated this morning when she woke up and couldn't sing for you."  
"Sorry Prim" Katniss says "but I had to hunt."  
The two sisters hug each other again.  
They seem pretty close, but it doesn't really surprise me. They were close five years ago too.  
"It's good that you're home early. Hazelle invited us to dinner tonight. And she asked me to send you home directly, Gale."  
"Okay, I'll see you later. Bye Katniss." He says and gives her a peck on the lips.  
"Bye Gale."  
After a moment of silent conversation between Steven and I, we decide that the best would be if we part. So Steven slink through the door to follow his son to his home while I turn to look at my family. I'm finally home.


	4. The Hawthorne family

Stevens POV  
I follow my son through half of the seam until we finally arrive at our house. The walls are repainted, but apart from that it looks the same. When I see it, it awakes a memory in my head.

_Flashback_  
_It's about sunrise and I'm wearing my coal-miner uniform. I am eating a bit of the rabbit I caught yesterday for breakfast. A few feet away sleeps my very pregnant wife, and I smile at the thought of our fourth child that will arrive at any day now._  
_When I'm about to leave I here small footsteps behind me. A few seconds later I see my fourteen year old son peaking through his door._  
_"Dad" he says quietly._  
_"Hmm"_  
_"Why do you have to go down there?" I assume he's meaning the coal mines._  
_"Gale" I sigh "you know why."_  
_"'Because we need the money', I know." He looks up at me "but why can't we rely on hunting? I mean, we can trade the game, and eat it ourselves. We might even be able to sell it!" He starts to speak in a rush while the idea forms in his head._  
_"It's dangerous Gale, and they will get suspicious. They will wonder how we get the money." I hate to break it to him. I would love to rely on hunting, but as I said, it is dangerous._  
_Gale's smile goes back into his usual scowl._  
_"Can we go hunting tonight? When you're home from work?" Gale asks me hopefully._  
_"Of coarse" I say "I promise."_  
_Then I leave for work, with a last wave with my hand to my son._

End flashback  
That was the only promise I've ever broken. I didn't go hunting with Gale that day, in fact, I didn't come home at all that day. Gale was the last member of my family I saw before I died. And it was Gale and the rest of my family I thought of the moment before everything became black.  
When I now see him in front of me I think about how fast he must have grown up. He got the father role in the house, since he was the oldest. And the only father Posy ever knew. When I look into his eyes, I don't see a nineteen year old boy. Those eyes have seen things that nobody should ever seen. They have been through things that nobody should ever go through. And I see the same thing in Katniss' eyes.  
While we walk on the short path leading to the house the front door swings open and a little girl runs out.  
"Gale!" She yells and jump up into his arms. He hugs her tightly and kisses her forehead.  
That little girl who is wrapped up in Gale's arms is Posy, the daughter I never had a chance to meet. I take a closer look at her and notice the red hair that I had imagined every time I thought of her. She is small, her five year old body is tiny, but she's the cutest girl I've ever seen. And in her brothers arms, I know she's safe. And I know that I have no reason to worry about any of them as long as Gale is around.  
"Mom is making your favourite stew for dinner." Posy says when Gale opens the front door.  
"Good" Gale smiles "it's Katniss' favourite too."  
Posy smiles at him, then jumps down and runs into the house. Rory and Vick walk in and greet Gale. They've also grown, but thankfully, their eyes don't show that worn look that Gale's does. They are still young, and free. Rory looks a lot like me and Gale while Vick looks more like Hazelle. Hazelle, the thought of her makes me look around. And there she is, leaning against the wall while watching her sons with a smile on her face. Gale sees her too, and he goes to hug her and give her a kiss on her forehead. He is almost a whole head taller than her and he has to lean down.  
"You've had a good day?" She asks and looks up at him.  
"Yeah, Katniss and I caught a lot." He smiles at the mention of her name.  
"Good" she smiles once again and then lets him go. He disappears into his room to change clothes or something.  
Hazelle stays in the living-room and tries to clean the front windows. I look at her. She looks older, much older, but she's as beautiful as ever. She looks tired, like she hasn't slept through a whole night in years, but she also looks happy. And with the children we have, I understand her, because I'm also happy. For the first time in five years.


	5. The Hawthorne's favourite memories

Steven's POV  
Gale comes out of his room wearing jeans and a clean shirt. He goes to sit on the couch next to his siblings. Instantly, he wraps an arm around Posy and I smile at his protectiveness. Vick jumps up and runs into his room, after a few seconds he comes back holding a book.  
"Can you read to us, Gale?" He asks and looks up at his older brother with pleading eyes.  
"Of coarse." When he says this, all the children leans closer to Gale. Gale takes the book from Vick, and when he does I see what book it is. The sight of it makes my heart ache. 'Robinson Crusoe'. My favourite book of all times, I always read it to them when I was alive. I wonder if they remember, I wonder if the book make them feel closer to me.  
Gale starts to read, and I'm too caught up in the story to notice Hazelle coming up behind me. She stands in the doorway and smiles at the sight in front of her. After a while she goes to sit in the couch next to her children. Posy immediately turns so that her head lays in Gale's lap but her feet in Hazelle's. I smile at them and continue to listen to Gale's reading.

About an hour later there's a knock on the door. Posy jumps up and runs out to answer while Gale calmly closes the book with a smile on his face. Hazelle and the boys follow Posy to the door which she's about to open. When she does, Katniss, her mother and sister walks in. And then Joseph, who silently sinks through and comes to stand with me.  
"Are you doing okay?" He asks.  
"Yeah, I love that we got this opportunity, it has been great to see a normal day for our families here. And to see that they are doing fine, I mean, they are apparently quite close, since they are dining together." I say and smile, because I am really happy about their close relationship.  
When Katniss has taken her jacket off, Posy instantly jumps up into her arms and hugs her. Katniss kisses her forehead and Joseph and I raise an eyebrow at each other - they are apparently even closer than we predicted. The greeting goes on, and after hugging Rory, Vick and Hazelle she reaches Gale. He embraces her in his arms and kisses her softly on the lips. The two mothers smile at them.  
"Eww!" Posy exclaims and we laugh at her. Gale shakes his head. When the hugging is over the two families gathers around the small table in the kitchen. When Hazelle puts the rabbit and potato stew on the table everyone starts to eat hungrily.

"What about a bit of storytelling?" Posy asks excitingly after they've finished eating "I want to hear good stories!"

"Yeah, what about everybody tells us about one of their favourite memory?" Rory says and everyone agrees.

"Well, then I start!" Posy exclaims.  
"Can't we sit in the living room instead?" Gale asks and they do. Gale takes Katniss by the hand and leads her in to the living room, they sit in the love seat with Posy between them. The other ones take seats in the couches around them.  
"Okay, well now I begin" Posy starts and thinks for a little while "My favourite memory is when Gale read 'Robinson Crusoe' for me for the first time. He told me then that it was daddy's favourite book and it made me feel close to dad." By the time she finishes everyone smiles at her and have tears in their eyes. Gale wraps his arms around her and she lays her head on his chest.  
When she said 'daddy' I immediately gasped and I felt myself swallow hard. It was the first time I've ever heard her say daddy and when she said that I was a part of her favourite memory it almost made me break down in sobs.  
Then it's Vick's turn.  
"My favourite memory is when the whole family was gathered after Gale's first reaping. Everybody was so happy. And dad was alive"  
"That's my favourite memory to!" Rory says smiling. I once again feel myself swallow and a single tear is slowly making its way down my cheek.  
"Well, my favourite memory, or memories in this case, is when I married Steven and the births of all of my wonderful children." Hazelle says and we smile at her.  
"I guess it's my turn now." Gale starts "my favourite memories is when dad took me out in the forest for the first time, the day I met Catnip, the day I realised that I was in love with Katniss, the day she said she loved me back, our first kiss, Posy's fifth birthday, the day mom got her job, the day..."  
"Whoa there Gale, we don't have the whole day!" Prim interrupts him with a slight chuckle.  
"Oh, sorry" Gale says and smiles sheepishly.  
"It's okay" Katniss says and Gale tells her something through a silent conversation with their eyes. The others look at them in a curious way but to me it's clear that Gale left something out when he told them about his favourite memories, and I'm not sure I want to know what it was. I've seen them make out in the forest and that is about as much a father can take. I really don't want to think about them doing _that_.


	6. The Everdeen's memories and engagement

Joseph's POV  
Steven almost broke down in tears when he heard his children telling us about their favourite memories. If Katniss and Prim say things like that, I believe I'll be in a similar state.  
"My turn!" Prim exclaims and smiles. "My favourite memory is when I heard daddy and Katniss sing together for the first time. It was so beautiful, and all the birds stopped to listen at them."  
Katniss smiles at her and Gale puts an arms around her and hugs her tightly. I stop breathing. It's so sweet and I'm smiling so big that I fear my lips might break.  
"I have the same favourite memories as Hazelle" Maria says "the day I married Steven and the birth of Katniss and Prim." I smile, those are a few of my favourite memories as well.  
"Well, my memories are quite similar to Gale's." Katniss starts "I have a lot of great memories and almost all of them come from the woods. All the days dad and I spent out there and when he taught me to hunt. And then, my memories with Gale, from the age of twelve. Especially the ones after we became a couple. And the latest memory, the day he proposed."  
Everyone reacts quite similar, and if I wasn't so shocked myself it would be comical. Hazelle and Maria gapes at them while they smile sheepishly back.  
"Wh-What?" Prim manage to say, through an open mouth.  
"Yeah, we're engaged. Since two days." Gale says simply. Hazelle finally comes to her senses and tackles Katniss in a big hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" She beams. She then hugs her son and whispers something in his ear, and he smiles. Maria and their siblings hugs them as well. Apart from Posy who's doesn't seem to understand.  
"What's engaged?" She asks.  
"It's when two people are getting married." Her mother answers while a tear is slowly making its way down her cheek.  
"You're getting married? Like a wedding?" She is now turned towards her brother and she smiles when she talks, excited.  
"Yes, we're getting married in the summer." He answers and Posy hugs them both tightly.  
"Yay!" She exclaims.  
I turn to look at Steven and sees that he looks as shocked as I feel. But I'm also happy, because my daughter is getting married, and it's to the man she loves. A man that I strongly approve of. Because I know that he'll take care of her, and protect her. I trust him.  
"Wow" I say to Steven.  
"Yeah, I'm happy though, they deserve each other."  
"My thoughts exactly, and we'll become family." I smile at him.  
Hazelle and Maria starts to talk wedding plans with Gale and Katniss while the children go outside to play.  
"What time is it?" Steven asks me and I look at the watch on my arm.  
"Seven thirty" I answer "we have around ten hours left."  
"Better make the most of it then" he says and I agree. The next two hours we spend listening to our wives talking and watch our children play. Gale and Katniss disappeared into Gale's bedroom doing something. I'm not sure I want know what.

"Come in children!" Hazelle yells through the door. "We've decided that Katniss, Prim and Maria can stay here over night, it's so dark outside."  
"Yes!" Posy says and hugs her mom. Katniss and Gale comes out of his bedroom and Hazelle repeat the news to them. I try hard not to notice their tousled hair and rosy cheeks and it looks like the other adults do the same. Rory smirks at them.  
"How are we going to sleep?" He asks.  
"Well, Katniss and Gale take Gale's room, Maria and I take my room, Posy and Prim can take your room Vick while you two boys sleep in Rory's room. Everyone okay with that?" Hazelle says and everybody nods.  
"Off to bed then!" She orders and hugs the children goodnight. Gale takes Katniss by the hand and smiles thankfully at his mother who rolls her eyes at him.  
"Goodnight Gale, and goodnight Katniss, honey. See you tomorrow."  
"Goodnight"  
We watch Hazelle and Maria do the dishes but then they are also going to bed.  
"Well I guess this is it." I say to Steven "We came so early they won't be up when we leave tomorrow. Except Katniss and Gale maybe." I'm happy that I'll see my daughter again at least. Her words affected me so, when she told us about her favourite memories. I'm so happy that she remembers all those days we spent in the woods, because they mean a lot to me.  
"Yeah" Steven says. "Shall we go outside for a while? There isn't really anything to do here."  
"Sure."  
The rest of the night we spend walking through the Seam and around District 12. It's nice to be back and to see everything.


	7. Katniss and Gale's story

Steven's POV

It's already dawn when we return to the house. The light is off so I guess no one is awake. The news about Katniss and Gale's engagement last night shocked me, I did _not_ see that coming. But I'm fine with it, I am happy actually. They are born to be together, and my son couldn't have a better wife. I'm proud of him to take that big step, because they deserve each other. They are soul mates. There's a good twenty minutes before anything happens. And when it does, it's Gale's door that opens and he walks out while buttoning his shirt. Katniss follows close behind. They go to the kitchen and eat a small breakfast, not uttering a word to each other. The first one to to say something is Gale.

"Are you ready to go, Catnip?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm just going to get my hunting boots", she answers.

She runs into the bedroom to get her boots and then follows Gale through the door. Joseph and I are not far behind. We follow them through the Seam until we get to the woods. Joseph is looking at his watch now and then. An hour left. Forty-five minutes. Gale and Katniss pick up their weapons and walk to the snare line. They've got two squirrels and a rabbit.

"Good, we can sell a squirrel to the baker, he loves them. The rest can we trade at the hob", Katniss says with a pleased look.

"Yeah", Gale says "come on, let's go hunting."

They hunt for the next thirty minutes and then take a rest at a beautiful lake. The water is blue and so clear that you can see the bottom. Green grass and bushes surrounds it and there's a small cabin on the side. I immediately understands that this is the lake they talked about yesterday when Katniss got her birthday present. Joseph has a dazed look in his eyes and I understand him, even if he has seen this before, it's so beautiful it's hard to take your eyes off it. It's a hot day so Katniss and Gale instantly strip off all of their clothes except their underwear and jump into the water. There's a load splash when they dive in and when they've surfaced, they swim a few strokes. I wonder how Gale learned to swim. I guess Katniss taught him.

There is only a few minutes left on our stay on earth but it has a beautiful ending. The mockingjays are singing and the sun is shining brightly, and at the exact moment a white light appears to take us back, Gale leans in to kiss Katniss softly on the lips. There could not be a better ending, until the end the only thing we saw was love.

After a few seconds we feel the soft ground under our feet. When we look up, we see God standing there.

"I hope you had a good trip", he says. We nod.

"Yes, we had. Thank you so much for this opportunity", I say and smile.

"No problems, you guys deserved it." And with that, he's gone.

I look at Joseph and we burst out in silent laughter. This is the first time I've really laughed since I died, and I'm so happy right now.

"I'm so relieved that our families are doing okay, now I know that I don't need to worry about them", Joseph says.

"Yeah, and it was better than I expected. I mean, who could have guessed that Katniss and Gale would end up together", I say.

"I could", a deep voice says and we turn around, God is back.

"Do you want me to tell you their story?" He asks and we nod in eagerness.

"Well, about six months after you death both of you're families had run out of food. The Hawthorn's only had Gale's hunting plus the little money Hazelle could get from washing clothes. They also had a newborn, Posy, who wouldn't survive the winter if she didn't got more food. The Everdeen's were in no better condition, they only had Katniss' hunting. One day they met each other in the woods. Katniss saw one of Gale's snares and went closer to see better. Gale is out of the bushes before Katniss has touched it. 'Stealing is punishable by death' he said." Joesph and I both smile at that, we met by almost the exact same reason. One of us got curious about the other ones weapons. "Katniss defends herself by saying that she wasn't going to steal it, she just wanted to see how it was made. He accepted that and asked her about her name. She says it, but quitetly, so he doesn't really hear. 'Well Catnip' he said 'what if I teach you how to make a snare and you teach me to hunt with a bow' 'Katniss' she said, a little higher this time 'and sure, that's a great idea'" So that's where the nickname comes from. I had made my own assumptions in my head, but this one was so much better. "From that day on, they were hunting partners and best friends. They taught each other everything they knew and helped each other with their families. Their mothers got to know each other, and they soon also became best friends. The food problems were almost non-existing. It kept going like this for three years, but the something happened. Gale started to like Katniss more than a friend, but he knew that she never wanted to fall in love or get married, so he didn't say anything. He couldn't shield it very well, though, and soon the whole district knew. Except Katniss. It was after the reaping last year that everything changed. Gale had survived his last reaping and they wanted to go to the woods to celebrate. On the way they passed a group of girls about the same age as them. One of the girls started to flirt with Gale, and Katniss just saw red. She started to feel things she had never felt before, and the things scared her. She wanted them to go away, she didn't want to feel like this. She thought about it while Gale dragged her away from the girls and into the woods. She was so frustrated she missed her rabbit with her arrow, something she hadn't done in years. Gale looked at her in surprise. 'What's wrong, Catnip', he asked. 'Nothing', she mutters. She started to walk away but Gale stopped her with his hand. 'I've know you for years, Katniss. And I know that if you miss with your arrow, something is wrong.' 'It's just those girls, I didn't like it', she admitted. Gale looked at with a small smile. 'You didn't like it?' He asked. 'No, but I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. It's wrong, I shouldn't feel...' He interrupted her with his lips. 'Its okay, Catnip, because I feel the same', he whispered and they leaned into kiss again. 'You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that', he said smiling. She smiled back. After a bit of hunting they walked home, hand in hand. Katniss couldn't really grasp what just happened, but the more she thought about it, the happier she got. When their mothers and siblings saw them coming they couldn't help but smile. The couple looked so happy and the families had waited for this moment for so long. 'Finally!' They all said together when Gale and Katniss walked through the door. Katniss blushed but a Gale just nodded with a smile and hugged his mother. They got to know each other even better now when they had become a couple. They trusted one another even more than before. And a few days ago - I believe you heard about it - he proposed to her. She didn't hesitate with her yes for a second." He ended his story with a happy ending and Joseph and I smile to each other. They were truly meant to be together.

THE END


End file.
